Red Sun

More correctly known as the Imperial National Bank of Nippon and the Pacific Rim Coalition (INBNPRC)

One of the largest megacorps in the world, and the largest in the Pacific Rim Coalition, INBNPRC is a Japanese based mega-bank that controls hundreds of businesses and corporations across the Rim and in other countries. The INBNPRC is also known as the Red Sun. The corporate logo is a Red Circle against a white background, very similar to the ethnic flag of Japan. But the Red Circle is not front and center, rather it is offset to the left upper corner. The various companies, organizations and services that are owned by the INBNPRC have the red circle in their logo somewhere, or the Red Sun logo is displayed next to it. The commonality of the logo has made it the prime target of the megacorps detractors. The most common and least offensive sobriquet is the 'Red Sun' frequently comparing the corporation to the stellar phenomenon of Red Supergiant stars. The words bloated, dying, and other insults are tossed around, indicating the corporation has become too vast and unweildy. This is usually paired with the expression 'To Big to Fail' and that the bank is the greatest liability of the Pacific Rim. It is also known as the Bloody Eye, usually followed by a diatribe about how uncaring and monstrous the corporation is. The Bloody Eye sees all, and is unmoved, the Bloody Eye only cares about profits and not the suffering of the poor and the common man. There are also less common references to the female menstrual cycle, being a stop light for would be competitors. A famous cartoon showed INBNPRC's logo being the control button being pushed by a shadowy figure, a reference to various secret societies and conspiracy theories.

Purpose

The Imperial National Bank of Nippon and the Pacific Rim Coalition was founded three generations ago during the reconstruction of Japan's economy. While other reconstruction organizations were trying to foster the new Japanese yen currency, the INBNPRC instead backed the Polynesian Dala currency. While the yen based banks were decimated by fluctuations in the stuttering economy, Red Sun was stable, with it's assets based in Hawaii, the Phillipines, and the rest of Polynesia. As it's stability was seen, more and more Japanese businesses abandoned the Yen and the Japanese banks. This lead to the Financial Melt-Down of Japan and the collapse of the Japanese government. The Emperor of Japan and the Red Sun had a number of meetings and concluded with the INBNPRC backing the Emperor with the Dala, allowing his august personage to restore the infrastructure of the country. This was effectively a coup of previously democratic Japan and considering the beginning of the New Yamato Era.

The alliance between the Red Sun and the Chrysanthemum Throne caused a great deal of concern around the world. For the first time, a MegaCorp had single handedly changed the course of a nation's economy and political paradigm. By backing the Emperor and restoring the throne to leadership of Japan INBNPRC ended 300 years of Japanese democracy. Other democratic nations started passing laws and legislation limiting the ability of megacorps to influence national policy. The alliance benefitted Japan greatly, and the Red Sun grew.

Agenda

The INBNPRC has multiple agendas. It has time tables, economic forecasts, projections that would break a table. As a massive megacorp it has a functional 'agenda department' that sets its goals and plans for the next year to the next fifty years, to the next century. But in the end, it's goals are simple: Grow, Profit. The corporation has it's fingers in almost every sector, from production of sundry goods, to energy markets, to military equipment. Rivals are spent to death against the Red Sun's vast wealth, or are acquired and amalgamated into the company.

The Red Sun is a vast, distant master. Few people actually work for the INBNPRC. They work for a company that is owned by another company that is itself held by the INBNPRC. The Red Sun also is a master of covert operations, having a network of spies and it's own shadowy Intelligence Agency. The Red Sun likes to hire expendable professionals to take care of sticky situations that it can claim no knowledge of. (Shadowrunners, assassins, professional thieves, hackers)

Leadership

The current CEO of INBNPRC is an energetic young man named Jin-Takaski 'Theodore' Hansho. Born in California, Theodore is an accomplished martial artist and former officer in the PRC Army. Skilled in aikido and kendo, Theodore is a focused fighter who demonstrates his physical prowess by disarming and disabling his sparring partners without striking them. He served six years in the PRC army where he started in the Mecha corps as a technician but ended as an officer and mecha pilot. During his time in the iron beast, he fought in engagements in Mexico, Australia, and Korea. He is a recognized ace pilot with seven confirmed mech kills. Many consider Theodore too young to be the CEO of the Red Sun, but while often impatient and impulsive, he has kept a steady hand and calm head at the helm.

Theodore Hansho is the Biggest Joke perpetuated on the people of Japan since the New Yen Act. He is gaijin, born in California to an anglo woman. Sure he is Yamada Hansho's son but he is a half blooded California cowboy. There were a dozen members of the INBNPRC board who were far more accomplished and worthy of the position.

Jin-Takashi has been a great consolidator. He has brought the two great states within the Pacific Rim Coalition together, Japan and California. This has improved the relationship of the Red Sun in California and shown that not everyone in the Coalition not of pure Japanese blood is incompetent or surviving by accident. There are rumors circulating that Jin-Takashi is courting the Emperor's daughter Ceko. These rumors conflict with the rumor that he is romantically involved with an Alaskan magnate, Tiffany St. Claire of Juneau. Either way, he is a very eligible bachelor and a man's man.

Is this the beginning of the Theodore Shogunate? For the first time in it's history, INBNPRC is being lead by a professional soldier. What can happen when a main trained to kill with a sword, and decorated for slaughtering in the name of the military has at his command the largest company in the Coalition? This brings a whole new light on Hostile Take Over!

Founder

The INBNPRC was founded by the visionary billionaire industrialist Jinpachi Hansho. Jinpachi was a warhawk in his youth, and had aspirations of military service and politcal office. Between a chronic heart condition and an unfortunate public scandal he was denied both. He instead focused his considerable ability towards increasing the power of his company, Bank of Nippon. Japan was in a state of tumult following the second Renaissance. Buildings were growing like weeds, old city ruins were being reclaimed and rebuilt at record pace. But there was so much instability, a billionaire could be homeless in a month due to the hypersensitive markets. Rather than fight against the churning currents, Bank of Nippon looked across the Pacific. It invested in Hawaii, New Zealand, the Phillipines, and Australia. This allowed it to have a good deal of financial stability. Jinpachi had a great love for Hawaiin culture and made a radical proposal. After marrying a Hawaiin woman, he proposed the old Hawaiian Dala as a new currency. The currency was readily accepted in the islands areas, and after some resistance, in Japan. While the yen was desired as the dominant currency of the island, it just wasn't in the cards. Following the formal creation of the Pacific Rim Coalition, the Dala was adopted as it's general currency. This pushed Red Sun profits skyward. While the profits were soaring, Jinpachi approached the figurehead Emperor of Japan, Kintaro Miyoshi and made him a staggering offer. While the Japanese staggered through it's third financial collapse in six years, Red Sun was strong. The elected government was in such bad shape that many police and rescue personel were working without pay, surviving on bartering with those they helped.

Executed his truncated political power, the Emperor, long a non-politcal figurehead, started performing Ceremonial Duties. With great ceremony, the Emperor and his agents started showing up and financially supporting agencies that were the traditional realm of government funding. While the parliament protested this transgression of power, they were rebuked both by the emperor (doing nothing outside his power, he pointed out, he was granting gifts to beleagered agencies) and by popular public opinion. A year after the Emperor's good will and Red Sun campaign was unexpectedly elected in the elections. He was written in 57% of the time, with no other public offices voted for. Considered a public mandate, he dissolved the remaining houses of representatives and reinstated himself as the Emperor of Japan. Bank of Nippon became the Imperial National Bank of Nippon and the Pacific Rim Coalition. Jinpachi was reviled by the pro-democracy minority who painted him as a murderous devil, while he was seen as the general hero of the Emperor, one of the men who rescued Japan from the brink of disaster.

Employees of the Red Sun

Principally a bank, the bulk of INBNPRC are suit and tie business men and women. The ideals of the samurai warrior are common, with many of the top level administrators having both ceremonial samurai titles, being required to have some artistic expression, and displaying physical discipline. Within the lower ranks there are plenty of sari-sari men and hodo-hodos who do just enough to not get fired.

What the government won't talk about is that the Red Sun is the largest employer of mercenaries in the Rim. The Red Sun also fields the largest number of private corporate soldiers in the Rim. The Bloody Red eye will protect it's assets at all costs. It is also a prime employer of Shadowrunners and covert ops personel. Something to consider when you see the bloody red eye logo on your ramen noodles, or the birthday card at the store.

Resources

The Arm of the Red Sun is long. The MegaBank has controlling shares of the Banks of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and has made inroads into China. It has penetrated the usually impenetrable Jungle Curtain of the United States of South America where it owns the National Bank of Argentina, and has major shares in the state banks of several other Amazonian states. The Red Sun is weakest in the Eurasian Alliance, followed by the Atlantic Federation, but it enjoys general popularity in the middle eschelon of world powers. It has interests in South Africa, India, and in the remaining surviving Arabic Nations.

The 21st Century was marred by the constant failure of 'Big Banks' prompting the passage of Bank Limitation and Restructuring Acts. These acts tore down the big banks, creating a large pool of medium and large banks but nothing on the scale of the old Nine Giants. The INBNPRC is a beast in the tradition of the Nine Giants and there are other institutions following in it's footsteps. If we allow the escalation of the Banking Megacorporations to continue they will place in peril the economy of the entire planet. We have seen the war and violence that came when the First Global Community collapsed. Our weapons are greater, and it has been long enough that we have forgotten the horror of war and instead believe the romanticised version of history.

Governor-President Arnold Monroe, Commonwealth of Virginia

Role of the INBNPRC

Authors Notes: In my readings I found over and over that the megacorps of the future are all seen as weapons companies, and the like. Doing some of my own research I found that the weapon manufacturers don't even make a blip on the Forbes lists. The biggest companies in the world are the megabanks, and oil companies. 9 of the 10 largest companies in the world are banking or oil. They aren't food or sundry goods makers, they don't make cars, guns, bombs, or viral weaponry. The Imperial National Bank of Nippon and the Pacific Rim Coalition is what I think a real future megacorp would look like. It is vast, it's wealth measured in the trillions of dollars. It doesn't make anything other than businessmen and paperwork. It's entire purpose is based around the concept of owning things like corporations and entire franchises of banks. The Red Sun doesn't make guns, but it owns several companies that do. Through this set up, the Red Sun does all sorts of things, it has hundreds of hands in hundreds of pies. It has massive wealth and power, which it can put to use anywhere for a story useful purpose.

Secret projects and divisions can easily exist in the cracks of the megacorp. Illegal operations vanish in a sea of digital paperwork.

Massive resources can be pouring into crackpot ideas just to see what might work, or might not. In an age of hypertech and parapsychic abilities, there is no limit other than imagination as to what the Red Sun could be funding, need psychic cyborgs, body snatching political clones, mind control rays, etc. Red Sun black budget.

Tool of the Illuminati: Wielding a business is easier than running a country. The CEO is only beholden to the BOD and the shareholders. His appointment doesnt depend on popular opinion. In a game with subterfuge and Illuminati style underpinnings the Red Sun is indeed one of their great guardian beasts.

Everyday Background Color: Red Sun is everywhere, from consumer products to customer service industries. Compare this to the fact that despite all the different labels, almost everything in a Super Walmart is produced by perhaps a dozen companies. But like these massive companies (P&G, ConAgra,etc) few people actually 'know' about them. It doesn't matter what cereal you buy, chances are it was made by the same company. This can also be used a tool to illustrate the 'illusion of choice'.

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The megacorp is well written and thought out, but I feel like all megacorps are pretty similar, since they all have the goal ($) and convergent evolution. What's really excellent about this sub is the skillful weaving of the Red Sun's history in a complex sociopolitical climate. The flavor at the beginning is 100% quality detail, too.

Isn't the CEO responsible to the Board of Directors? CEOS change all the time. Directors last a lot longer. I'm really curious about how Theodore became CEO, too. A technician doesn't sound like someone who has a lot of connections. Eighth son of someone important, maybe? Famous war-hero?

I love how you've blended the corporate and imperial structures, the Red Sun and Japan came to coexist with each other so naturally. It really seems like they grew out of each other, both birthed from Modern Japan.

There's something about Theodore that reminds me very much of Mech Warrior. His family history, his money, his foreign birth all make him seem very much apart of a sort of Globalist Nobility. I can imagine the world he lives in is lush with subtle financial and political intrigue.

This post really hits home with it's ties to the worlds current financial woes, it's a scary and incredibly verisimilitudinous depiction of our future. It deserves nothing less than 5/5.